Shared satellite operations network on DoD’s radar

The Defense Department is considering making significant changes to its space architecture network policy to more efficiently control its satellites from the ground.

DoD manages the nation’s defense satellites from ground stations all over the world. The ground stations monitor the health of satellites, ensure they stay in proper orbit and execute the overall mission of the satellite.

When the Government Accountability Office looked into the operations of the ground control in 2013, however, it found satellite control networks were fragmented and potentially duplicative.

A new study mandated by Congress states that satellite ground control enterprise architecture can be bettered by creating a DoD-wide organization to oversee ground control systems and by adopting more commercial practices.

Now that the issue has Congress’ eye and the Pentagon is now led by a capability-focused defense secretary, who is investing heavily in DoD’s third offset strategy, more attention may be paid to consolidating satellite control systems.

The third offset strategy was created to maintain the United States’ technological superiority over its adversaries. One of the main tenants of the strategy is building space capability.

The congressional study suggests it establishes a baseline as a starting point for a long term plan after it developed conceptual enterprise architectures to examine approaches to incorporating commercial practices.

Those practices include the use of automation for routine actions, hybrid and shared networking to simplify information flow and custom proprietary products.

“Potential benefits of automation include allowing for operator time to be spent on more specialized and critical situations and reducing operator error rate and cost associated with routine functions,” the report states.

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said during a speech just last week that DoD is focusing more and more on automated systems and businesses need to invest more in automated systems or be left behind.

DoD is also constantly trying to improve its interoperability, which does not mesh with the status of satellite ground operations in GAO’s 2013 report.

“Over the past decade, DOD has increasingly deployed standalone satellite control operations networks, which are designed to operate a single satellite system, as opposed to shared systems that can operate multiple kinds of satellites,” the GAO study states.

The study cites one Air Force base that has 10 satellite program operated by eight different control centers.

While DoD does have a shared satellite control network called the Air Force Satellite Control Network. The network was previously budgeted $400 million over five years for modernization, but that did not include efforts to increase network sharing capabilities.

The congressional study recommends creating a DoD-wide structure to oversee satellite ground operation enterprise architecture by either establishing an architecture that sets standards for programs to follow, or a DoD-wide organization that consolidates all ground system acquisition and operations.

The study also suggests DoD select a steering group to conduct technical cost analysis and develop and business case. Then the group would use data to examine tradeoffs of implementing commercial practices.

The group should “determine a path for the sensible implementation of increased commercial practices,” the study states. “This could consist, for example, of creating an architecture and roadmap and then issuing guidance plans and plans to the satellite programs across DoD for implementation,” the study stated.

The study emphasizes that the issue is in its very early stages and still needs “significant additional study.”

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